Incorporating android conversational agents in m-learning apps

Smart Mobile Devices Have Fostered New Learning Scenarios That Demand Sophisticated Interfaces. Multimodal Conversational Agents Have Became A Strong Alternative To Develop Human-Machine Interfaces That Provide A More Engaging And Human-Like Relationship Between Students And The System. The Main Developers Of Operating Systems For Such Devices Have Provided Application Programming Interfaces For Developers To Implement Their Own Applications, Including Different Solutions For Developing Graphical Interfaces, Sensor Control And Voice Interaction. Despite The Usefulness Of Such Resources, There Are No Strategies Defined For Coupling The Multimodal Interface With The Possibilities That These Devices Offer To Enhance Mobile Educative Apps With Intelligent Communicative Capabilities And Adaptation To The User Needs. In This Paper, We Present A Practical M-Learning Application That Integrates Features Of Android Application Programming Interfaces On A Modular Architecture That Emphasizes Interaction Management And Context-Awareness To Foster User-Adaptively, Robustness And Maintainability.This work was supported in part by Projects MINECO TEC2012-37832-C02-01, CICYT TEC2011-28626-C02-02, CAM CONTEXTS (S2009/TIC-1485

Digital Training in Building Chatbot-based Online Learning Media: Action Research for Teachers in Semarang City through the "Train The Teachers" Training

The lack of student learning motivation and teacher difficulties in monitoring student learning progress is considered to be the main problems in distance learning, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research employed action research methods by involving 20 teachers in several elementary schools in Semarang City spread across several sub-districts. The research results obtained: First,  six steps to determine the increase in teacher creativity and understanding, namely the introduction of chatbot and chatbot templates as digital learning media in schools; the implementation of the first training session; the assignment of creating and designing chatbots from templates; the implementation of the second training session and finale chatbot feedback. Second, during digital chatbot training, Acita template was used to see an increase in teacher creativity and understanding of chatbots. The result revealed that, in the aspect of teacher creativity, the point of chatbot design creativity had increased by 41%, creativity in material integration had increased by 46%, and interactive creativity in chatbots had increased by 33%. In addition, in the aspect of teacher understanding, the points of understanding of chatbot structure and understanding of chatbot development had increased by 47%

University Student Surveys Using Chatbots: Artificial Intelligence Conversational Agents

Predefined web surveys are often used to collect course evaluations from students in higher education institutions. These institutions use the evaluations to adjust their courses’ pedagogical standards and lecture style to cope with an increasingly uncertain and complex world. Many limitations to using web surveys have been reported such as low response rates and low-quality responses to open questions. To overcome these limitations, artificial intelligence conversational agents (CAs) or ‘chatbots’ are used to play the interviewer role, facilitating the enhancement of the quality of responses. This is accomplished by mimicking human-human conversations; by asking questions in a friendly, casual way and pursuing high-quality responses. This study aims to explore the opportunities and the obstacles of using CAs in collecting course evaluations in three European universities (UK, Spain and Croatia) and one Centre of excellence in Cyprus. The transcripts collected have been analyzed using statistical data analysis methods and qualitative data analysis techniques. Our findings reveal that the use of CAs in collecting course feedback from students has a positive impact on response quality and can boost students’ enjoyment levels. Furthermore, gender differences and student age have been identified as important factors that can influence the depth of the conversation with the CA

Notícias falsas : origens, meios de disseminação, contextos e enfrentamento

Registros bem antigos evidenciam que a humanidade sempre se valeu de falsos argumentos para tornar real o que, na verdade, não existe. Discute-se como surgiram, a partir de um momento histórico, identificando os meios de disseminação, com vistas a apresentar argumentos que dêem suporte para um debate sobre o enfrentamento do problema, tratando-o como desinformação, no contexto da Ciência da Informação. A base conceitual para este trabalho será calcada em levantamento de dados bibliográficos. Descrição cronológica dos fatos geradores de notícias falsas. Introduz-se o estudo, descrevendo que a primeira geração de notícias falsas ocorreu com a disseminação com o uso de objetos e textos manuscritos, por meio de gravação de frases em moedas; escrever em placas (Acta Diurna); sonetos (Pasquim), folhetim (Canards), canções e poemas. Passou pelos “homens parágrafos” e chegou ao jornal. A segunda geração foi o jornal e o rádio. Jornais como “The Sun”, The Times e The Daily Mail, já faziam sátiras, distorcendo os fatos, como, por exemplo: a existência de vida na lua. A Columbia Broadcasting System –(CBS) noticiou que a terra estava sendo atacada por alienígenas. A terceira geração de falsas notícias são as redes sociais, a Internet. A Rússia do século XX foi a precursora, ao criar uma organização “troll factory” para publicar um grande número de mensagens e postar em redes sociais para desinformar a opinião pública da época. Surge a quarta geração, denominada de “Deep Fake”, que é um recurso que permite substituir o rosto e o áudio de uma pessoa por outro, forjando situações para comprometer a sua reputação. Propõe-se, com a realização desse trabalho de pesquisa, um debate acerca de quais medidas de enfrentamento possam conscientizar as pessoas, para que saibam distinguir notícias que se prestam a informar ou desinformar. É possível encontrar um caminho que possa contribuir para conter o avanço das falsas notícias? Ao concluir este trabalho investigativo, o autor sugere a adoção, como referência, dos conceitos de Alfabetização Digital e Competências em Informação para o enfrentamento do problema

Conversational Agents in Education – A Systematic Literature Review

Conversational Agents (CAs) are widely spread in a variety of domains, such as health and customer service. There is a recent trend of increasing publications and implementations of CAs in education. We conduct a systematic literature review to identify common methodologies, pedagogical CA roles, addressed target groups, the technologies and theories behind, as well as human-like design aspects. The initially found 3329 records were systematically reduced to 252 fully coded articles. Based on the analysis of the codings, we derive further research streams. Our results reveal a research gap for long-term studies on the use of CAs in education, and there is insufficient holistic design knowledge for pedagogical CAs. Moreover, target groups other than academic students are rarely considered. We condense our findings in a morphological box and conclude that pedagogical CAs have not yet reached their full potential of long-term practical application in education

Desenvolvimento de uma aplicação móvel de suporte ao Programa de Tutoria da Universidade de Aveiro

Atualmente, assiste-se a uma grande utilização dos dispositivos móveis, como os smartphones, por parte dos jovens, para comunicarem e partilharem experiências em redes sociais, mesmo durante as aulas. O Programa de Tutoria da Universidade de Aveiro (PT-UA), criado no ano letivo de 2010/2011, coloca em prática um conjunto de medidas que visam a integração e acompanhamento adequado dos novos estudantes (tutorandos). Esse acompanhamento é feito através de mentores e tutores. Face ao cenário descrito, a presente dissertação tem como objetivo o desenvolvimento de uma aplicação móvel (App), e da respetiva versão web, de suporte ao PT-UA. A metodologia de investigação suporta-se na Investigação de Desenvolvimento. O processo de desenvolvimento engloba o estado da arte sobre a utilização de websites de redes sociais e aplicações móveis na educação, e principais funcionalidades de software; a conceção dos layouts; a avaliação através de testes de usabilidade e a implementação das sugestões de melhoria. A solução final apresentada permite uma melhor comunicação entre todos os intervenientes do programa, através da sua acessibilidade em qualquer lugar, de forma rápida. Apresenta uma rede social, onde todos os participantes podem publicar e partilhar ideias através de posts, que podem ser comentados. Oferece navegação GPS para facilitar a movimentação pelo campus. Possibilita o acesso ao calendário de eventos, assim como a possibilidade de chat em tempo real. São utilizadas várias tecnologias modernas, nomeadamente o React Native e Redux para a App, e o Laravel e Pusher para a parte da versão web e chat em tempo real. Relativamente às bases de dados optou-se pela utilização do MySQL, por existir uma maior familiaridade.Today, mobile devices such as smartphones are widely used by young people to communicate and share experiences on social networks, even during classes. The University of Aveiro (UA) created the Tutoring Program of the University of Aveiro (PT-UA) in the academic year 2010/2011, putting in practice a set of measures that aim at the integration and adequate support of new students during their first year of studies. This support is provided by tutors and mentors. This dissertation aims to develop a mobile application (App) and corresponding web version to support the PT-UA. It uses the methodology of Research Development. The development process includes a state of the art of the use of social network websites and mobile applications in education, and principal software functionalities; layout design; usability testing and the implemention of suggestions for improvement. The solution presented allows better communication between all the actors of the program, by enabling rapid accessibility anywhere, only requiring a smartphone and internet access. It features a social network, where everyone can post and share ideas via posts, which can be commented on and liked by other users. It provides GPS navigation to make it easier for users to navigate the campi, and it gives access to a calendar of events, as well as the possibility to chat in real time with other participants in the program. Several modern technologies were used, react native and redux for the App, and laravel and pusher for the back-office and real-time chat. Regarding the databases, it was decided to use MySQL, because of greater familiarity.Mestrado em Comunicação Multimédi

Second- and Third-Grade Educators’ Perspectives on Technology Integration and Implementation in Early Childhood Literacy Classrooms

Researchers have indicated that educators integrate technology based on their perspectives. Despite the increased expectation for educators to integrate technology into the daily academic environment, there has not been a significant improvement in outcomes in the critical area of literacy. In this basic qualitative study, the research questions were designed to explore second- and third-grade educators’ perspectives on the challenges they face when integrating technology and how technology implementation influences literacy outcomes. A total of eight purposefully selected participants, educators who had taught second or third grade within the last 3 years with 2 to 3 years of experience teaching literacy and who are responsible for actively integrating technology, were interviewed. The conceptual framework for the study was grounded in social constructivism and Vygotsky’s more knowledgeable other learning environment. Thematic coding was used to analyze collected data. Educators’ perspectives revealed that external barriers hinder academic progress. Educator confidence plays a deciding role in integration and implementation. Using interview questions rooted within the constructs of the chosen framework, the insight gained from educators may promote enhanced student achievement outcomes through greater understanding based on educators’ perspectives on technology integration, and implementation in the literacy classroom promoting positive social change. As positive influences are noted in the early years, the noted improvements may increase learning and earning potential for youth locally, nationally, and globally. The findings garnered from this study may influence populations beyond the foundational years

PENGEMBANGAN MEDIA PEMBELAJARAN BERBASIS SMART APPS CREATOR 3 PADA MATA PELAJARAN PJOK DI MASA PANDEMI COVID 19

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk: (1) Mengembangkan media pembelajaran berbasis SAC 3 dalam bentuk android yang layak untuk diterapkan sebagai media pembelajaran PJOK dalam pembelajaran daring era new normal, (2) Mengetahui kelayakan produk pengembangan berbasis SAC 3 dari para validator dan calon pengguna, (3) Mengetahui efektifitas media pembelajaran berbasis SAC 3 dalam meningkatkan pengetahuan siswa materi narkoba. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian pengembangan dengan model pendekatan ADDIE melalui 5 tahapan, diantaranya: (1) Analysis, (2) Design, (3) Development, (4) Implementationm (5) Evaluation. Validasi oleh ahli pada penelitian ini dilakukan oleh tiga ahli materi dan dua ahli media. Subjek uji coba pada penelitian ini adalah Guru dan Siswa. Uji coba yang dilakukan meliputi dua tahapan yaitu uji coba skala kecil dan uji coba skala besar. Teknik Pengumpulan data pada penelitian ini yaitu menggunakan kuisioner. Data kuantitatif yang diperoleh kemudian dianalisis dengan menggunakan statistik deskriptif. Saran – saran yang diperoleh dijadikan acuan untuk merevisi produk. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa: (1) Produk media pembelajaran berbasis SAC 3 dalam bentuk android untuk mata pelajaran PJOK bagi siswa SMA se-Pulau Belitung layak untuk digunakan. (2) Tingkat kelayakan produk berdasarkan penilaian penilaian ahli materi rata-rata yaitu sebesar 85,33%, masuk dalam kategori sangat layak. Penilaian ahli media rata-rata sebesar 85,67%, masuk dalam kategori sangat layak layak. (3) Berdasarkan uji efektifitas menunjukkan bahwa produk media pembelajaran berbasis SAC 3 dalam bentuk android untuk mata pelajaran PJOK bagi siswa SMA se-Pulau Belitung efektif terhadap peningkatan pengetahuan siswa tentang NAPZA, dengan p < 0,05